Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Where's the Water?

It's nothing to rival the 1930's.... but have you noticed that it's not raining much lately? It's not news in the West... see this article or many others like it in New West. In Wisconsin, environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy are watching lake levels drop to worrisome levels. Here in Memphis, the Mississippi river is dropping to levels that haven't been seen in years. The Arkansas side of the river is starting to look like one very big beach. Our own Redneck Riviera, indeed. It's being called the worst drought in the Midwest in nearly 20 years. Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel explained to The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm Tuesday that it's been warmer than usual in most parts of the Northeast and Midatlantic, but that comes on the heels of two cooler-than-average summers. So, "When it gets up to around 100, it just feels worse." That said, "We are seeing more extremes, and they're even more extreme than they were before. Global warming modelers plug in warmer temperatures down the road. And what we're seeing is, down the road, if we do keep getting warmer like we're seeing, we'll see more extreme weather. "Here's a little statistic, too: Back in the 1800s, once every seven Julys, you had a 100-degree afternoon. Now, it's one day every four Julys you see 100 in New York." Feeling hot, hot, hot.